Wayne Rooney has confirmed he wants the Manchester United captaincy, writes David McDonnell in Denver.

The armband is up for grabs after long-serving skipper Nemanja Vidic and his regular vice-captain Patrice Evra both left the Old Trafford giants this summer.

Rooney, who has been at United for 10 years, is among the favourites to be named skipper, but faces tough competition from fellow striker Robin van Persie.

Van Persie was made Holland captain by Louis van Gaal, but when he took over at United last week the 62-year-old said he intends to assess all of the candidates before appointing the squad’s new leader.

Striker Rooney, who has captained United before, said he would be delighted to be handed the armband by Van Gaal.

“Of course I would like the captaincy, but it’s the manager’s decision who he chooses,” said Rooney. “I think he wants to work with the players and then choose a captain from there.

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“I don’t think he was ever going to just walk in and choose a player from the off. I’m sure he’ll look at all the players now and make his decision in a couple of weeks.”

Rooney, who has been working under Van Gaal for a week now since returning for pre-season training, praised the United manager’s direct and forthright approach.